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Bangladesh has been drawn in the Group B of the Asian Games along with Asian powerhouse Korea Republic, Bahrain and Vietnam. Bangladesh will play directly in the second round of the biggest sporting extravaganza of Asia, scheduled to start in Doha, the capital of Qatar, from December 1-15.
   Bangladesh will play in the second round as the organisers decided to stage a preliminary round only for eight new comers who did not take part in Busan Asia Games.
   There are 30 teams in the fray, with 22 qualifying directly for the second round. The eight remaining teams which didn’t participate in the last Asian Games have been divided into two groups of four, and play in the first round. Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Macau are inserted in Group A of the first round and Singapore, Syria, Indonesia, Iraq are drawn in Group B.
   The winner of each group join the 22 in the second round and the competition proceeds with 24 teams (six groups of four).
   In previous two encounters with Vietnam, Bangladesh conceded a 0-4 defeat and had a goalless draw against them in pre-qualifying round of World Cup 2002.
   Bangladesh also lost to Korea Republic 6-0 in Asian Nation cup in 1992 and they are yet to face Bahrain in an officially recognised match.
   A total of 24 teams, split into six groups comprising four teams, will play the second round and the group champions plus the best two runners-up will qualify for the quarterfinals.
   Second round teams
   Group-A: Qatar, UAE, Uzbekistan and Group-A champions of the first round
   Group-B: Korea Republic, Bahrain, Vietnam and Bangladesh
   Group-C: Thailand, Kuwait, Yemen and Palestine
   Group-D: Iran, India, Hong Kong and Maldives
   Group-E: China, Oman, Malaysia and Group-B champions of the first round
   Group F: Japan, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan and Pakistan.

Forensic evidence about the ball used in the Oval Test is unlikely to help prove a ball-tampering charge, BBC Sport has been told. A leading crime scene investigator said ‘striation’ marks caused by fingernails could be detected by experts. But it would be almost impossible to prove whether they indicated deliberate gouging or picking of the leather.
   Allan Scott, now a forensic science lecturer, said, ‘Any defence lawyer would demolish this kind of evidence.’
   Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq faces twin charges of ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute.
   His team initially refused to take the field after the tea interval on August 20 in protest at a five-run penalty imposed by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove.
   As captain, Inzamam was deemed responsible for the actions of his entire team, with the officials unable to single out individual Pakistan fielder(s) on the ball-tampering charge. On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council revealed a forensic test on the ball used in England’s second innings at The Oval was ‘being suggested’.
   It is understood there is no compelling video evidence available. The hearing is set for September 27 and 28, in London.
   Scott, who will not be a witness, spent 25 years working with various police forces and now lectures on forensic science at the University of Central Lancashire.
   He said the main problem was that the ball, having been used for 56 overs, would show damage caused by bats, boundary ropes and boards so there would be few clean striation marks.
   Scott said, ‘It’s not like a burglary, where you would have one mark on a window frame with someone trying to force a window with a screwdriver.
   ‘With a game of cricket, how many hands have passed through a ball? And in that time, you could never say whether the marks were caused deliberately or accidentally. In court, a crime scenes investigator would be asked: ‘Is it possible this happened accidentally?’ The answer would have to be ‘yes it is possible’.

Maria Shara-pova will shoot for her first US Open title on Saturday after upsetting world number one Amelie Mauresmo in three sets in the semi-finals.
   Sharapova will face Justine Henin-Hardenne, who reached her fourth grand slam final of the year by beating 19th-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Friday.
   Third seed Sharapova struck 20 winners in the day's later match, double the number from Mauresmo, to win 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 and reach the second grand slam final of her career.
   Frenchwoman Mauresmo, the 27-year-old Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, played a miserable first set and won just seven points in the final frame.
   The top seed secured her only service break in the last game of the second set but was unable to keep the momentum going.
   ‘It was tough to get broken in that last game of the second set,’ said the 19-year-old Sharapova, who will move up to number one in the world if she beats Henin-Hardenne. ‘She just played some good tennis. But I hung in there.
   ‘I went to the changeover and thought, 'It's all right. It's one set all. You haven't lost the match yet. Now it's equal.' So I just kept going.’
   Five-times grand slam winner Henin-Hardenne has a 4-1 record against Sharapova after a four-match winning streak against the Russian.
   ‘Well, I had a terrible record against Amelie (0-3) and that ended today,’ said Sharapova. ‘And I have a terrible record against Justine.
   ‘So I hope that's a good luck charm at the Open and I will turn it around tomorrow.’
   Appearing in her first grand slam semi-final, the 21-year-
   old Jankovic played aggressively and took advantage of a sub-par performance by Henin-Hardenne to lead by a set
   and 4-2.
   But after double-faulting on her serve for a 5-2 lead, nerves seemed to get the best of the Serbian and she unravelled while losing 10 straight games and the match.
   Henin-Hardenne credited the comeback both to her improved play and Jankovic's collapse.
   ‘I was pretty nervous at the beginning of the match. I wasn't in good rhythm,’ said the Belgian. She was playing terrific at that time. She was just on fire.’
   But the 24-year-old said that when she trimmed Jankovic's second-set lead to 5-4 she felt much better.
   ‘I was feeling free,’ she said. ‘I was playing my game. In the third set, I played really well. I came back a little bit from nowhere, but it's the kind of match that I probably would have lost in the past.’
   An emotional Jankovic said she self-destructed after arguing with the chair umpire over a line call, battling the swirling winds on Arthur Ashe Stadium and watching Henin-Hardenne hold her back in apparent pain.
   ‘I don't know what she was doing, but she was acting like she had pain in her back, and she was trying to start me thinking or something.
   ‘I was looking at her, and she was, 'Oh, I have pain in my back.' That's the time when she was losing. Then when she was winning, all of a sudden she's hitting the biggest serves ever.
   ‘I'm like, 'Now your back doesn't hurt?'‘
   However, Jankovic said losing her concentration was her own fault.
   ‘But what can I do? I'll learn from my mistakes,’ she said. ‘I am young and I hope the next time I won't make the same mistake.’

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has said next year’s World Cup in the West Indies will be the one of the most open in the competition’s history.
   Woolmer’s side have been widely tipped as one of the leading challengers to defending champions Australia, given the wide array of talent they have at their disposal in all areas.
   The tourists dominated the opening fixtures of their ongoing one-day series against England, which they lead 2-1 heading into today’s finale at Edgbaston.
   Despite an eight-wicket defeat against England under the Trent Bridge floodlights here Friday, Woolmer’s men remain an impressive one-day outfit.
   But the former England batsman reckoned Pakistan were just one of several sides who had a shot at winning the World Cup, which takes place in the Caribbean in March and April.
   ‘This World Cup in particular is going to be one of the closest World Cups of all time because there are so many sides at an even level,’ Woolmer said.
   ‘Australia have been pegged back a little bit and there are a lot of teams who can win at any one stage. For three games we have been written up as world champions but we know that that just doesn’t happen.
   ‘The nature of limited-overs matches means that unlike Test cricket it is difficult to fight back when in a corner.
   ‘One-day cricket is a lottery, if a team gets on top it can lead to a situation like we had last (Friday) evening where one team wins quite easily,’ the former South Africa coach told reporters.
   ‘One side bats well, the other bowls badly, it is all relative.
   ‘Very rarely do you get really close games in international cricket, they are few and far between if you actually look at it - one side normally gets on top and nails the other one.
   ‘There are occasionally some fantastic games like at Southampton earlier this week (where Pakistan beat England by two wickets), or the famous World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Australia at Edgbaston in 1999 and others.’
   Pakistan may be nearing the end of a lengthy tour but Woolmer said he expected his side to be sufficiently fresh for today’s Edgbaston climax.
   ‘I would be very disappointed if they didn’t have the energy and enthusiasm,’ said Woolmer.
   ‘When you lose you tend to learn more than when you win and after what has happened here we would like to win. This (defeat) might be a way of reminding them: we bowled badly, both sides of the wicket, either too full or too short and we didn’t bat as well as we should have done.’
   Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was involved in fresh controversy on Friday when he claimed a slip catch after opposing skipper Andrew Strauss edged fast bowler Mohammad Asif.
   But both camps played down the incident after stumps and Woolmer said: ‘Inzamam thought he caught it and Strauss thought it bounced and there’s always going to be an impasse in that situation.
   ‘Someone has to make a decision and that is why the umpire is there. If they are not sure they have to ask and the benefit goes to the batsman.
   ‘I think Strauss, if he thought it hit the ground, had every right to stay there, quite frankly.’

Reigning champions China crushed Bangladesh 5-0 to cruise into the quarter-finals of the AFC U-17 Championship at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Friday.
   Three goals in the first half ensured the round-of-eight slot for China, who were under tremendous pressure to deliver after a lacklustre 3-3 draw with Vietnam in their previous game. China easily tore apart the Bangladesh defence and pumped in five goals before the long whistle. By far the better side technically and tactically, the Chinese left the Bangladeshis chasing shadows throughout the match. Their physical superiority proved to be the difference between the teams.
   All three of China’s goals in the first half came from headers. The prolific Ma Long, who was inspirational for China in the first two games, opened the account after 27 minutes through a header from a beautifully executed free-kick by Jiang Wenjun from the right flank. Gao Di capitalised on Bangladesh’s defensive error to double the margin in the 42nd minute with an awkward downward header. Two minutes later, Gao hit the third with a superb header.
   Li Haifang scored the fourth with a powerful long range shot on 77 minutes and Ma Long’s second goal of the game in the 82nd minute completed the rout.
   China top the group having collected seven points from three matches while Syria are placed second with six points.
   Bangladesh, on the other hand, lost all three games in the group, with no goals scored and conceding an amazing 14 goals to end up with the wooden spoon.

Bangladesh Navy beat Clair (Dhaka) by 72-48 points in the Office Basketball League at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymn-asium on Saturday.
   Navy were trailing by two points in the first half.
   Rashed and Altaf scored 27 and eight points respectively for the winners. Shuvo and Amit caged 11 and seven points for the losers.
   In the day's other match, Imperial Fashions recorded a massive 91-56 win over Bangladesh Police after leading the first half by 41-32 points.
   Imran was the highest scorer with 25 points followed by Munna who caged 20 for the winners. Rustam and Nitai scored 17 and 14 for the losers respectively.

England striker Andrew Johnson scored twice as Everton handed local rivals Liverpool a 3-0 Merseyside derby mauling at Goodison Park on Saturday.
   Australia midfielder Tim Cahill struck from close range after 24 minutes and Johnson fired home a second 11 minutes later after a defensive blunder from Jamie Carragher.
   Liverpool, who left Wales forward Craig Bellamy out of the squad, twice struck the post through captain Steven Gerrard before Johnson completed the rout with a comical third in stoppage time.
   Keeper Jose Reina palmed Lee Carsley's shot up in the air, then backtracking caught the ball under the crossbar. With his momentum about to carry him over the line, Reina released the ball, allowing Johnson to head home.
   Victory lifted unbeaten Everton, with 10 points from four games, to the top of the standings.

Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who already faces disciplinary charges resulting from a ball-tampering ruling, was at the centre of another storm on Friday when he claimed a catch.
   Fielding at first slip, Inzamam was convinced he had taken a low catch off England captain Andrew Strauss during the fourth one-day international at Trent Bridge.
   As Inzamam’s team-mates ran to congratulate him, Strauss refused to leave the crease, equally convinced that the ball had not carried to the Pakistan captain.
   Umpires Daryl Harper and Mark Benson conferred and then asked the TV umpire, Ian Gould, for a ruling which was that the ball had hit the ground before going into Inzamam’s hands.
   When the verdict came up on the TV scoreboard, England fans began chanting ‘cheat, cheat,’ clearly aimed at the Pakistan captain. Minutes later, Inzamam was involved in a serious discussion with umpire Harper although it was not clear what the conversation was about.

England (237/2) beat Pakistan (235/8) by eight wickets
   Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss upstaged Pakistan's top-order batsmen to ensure a rare England victory in the fourth one-day international on Friday which kept alive their hopes of squaring the series.
   Bell made 86 not out and Strauss made 78, the pair putting on 110 runs for the second wicket at Trent Bridge to ease the home side to a comfortable eight-wicket win. Kevin Pietersen was the other not-out batsman with 41 off 48 balls.
   Pakistan lead the series 2-1 with a game to play. It was England's first one-day win against a leading side in 10 matches. They lost their previous two series 5-1 against India and 5-0 against Sri Lanka.
   The high drama of the day-nighter came at the end of the Pakistan innings, when all rounder Abdul Razzaq produced an extraordinary display of clean leg-side hitting to give his side hope after the failure of their much-vaunted top order.
   Razzaq, who finished with 75 not out off 72 balls, cross-batted five sixes and two fours during the final 12 balls of the innings, with 69 runs of Pakistan's 235 for eight coming off the last four overs.

England captain Andrew Strauss told his players not to drop their standards after they achieved a rare one-day victory which gave them a chance of squaring their series against Pakistan.
   It was only England’s fifth success in 25 limited-over matches, a worrying record heading into next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean, and afterwards Strauss told reporters, ‘We’ve worked very hard to get this first win and now it’s really important we build on it.
   ‘We’ve got to do the things we did well today again at Edgbaston.
   ‘I certainly don’t think anyone will be taking their foot off the accelerator,’ he added.
   ‘With the exception of our last few overs, it was excellent. We put them under pressure and were able to take wickets in the middle which is very important for one-day cricket.
   ‘And then a clinical performance at the end there, keeping up with the rate and not losing early wickets. When you win it all seems quite simple.’
   And Strauss said it was vital for the team’s future success that they didn’t just rely in their established stars.
   ‘Tres is a very important one-day player for England but, as we’ve found with all the injuries we’ve had over the last 12 months, you can’t rely on one or two players.
   ‘You’ve got to be able to get performances from all round the team. Hopefully we can do that in India and hopefully this win will give us a bit of momentum.’
   Yardy, who took a miserly three for 24 from his maximum 10 overs – a haul which included Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal – was understandably pleased.
   ‘I’m loving it,’ said Yardy who also played in England’s five-wicket Twenty20 defeat against Pakistan at Bristol last month.
   The 25-year-old Sussex star’s haul was all the more impressive as he’d only been bowling spin for under two years.
   ‘In October 2004, I switched. My seam bowling wasn’t going anywhere so I thought I’d try spin and it’s worked pretty well. I’ve had a great day today (Friday) but I’m not looking too far ahead.’
   And a delighted Strauss added, ‘He’s come in and done a great job. He proved again he can transfer his county form into one-day international cricket which is not easy to do. To bowl like he did in his first game was very impressive.’
   However, the match might have taken a different course had a controversial incident early in England’s innings gone Pakistan’s way. Strauss, on five, edged Mohammad Asif and opposing captain Inzamam-ul-Haq claimed a catch at first slip.
   But the Middlesex left-hander was adamant the ball hadn’t carried and stood his ground. Eventually the umpires called for replay assistance and, with pictures inconclusive, third umpire Ian Gould gave Strauss not out.
    ‘I turned round and saw it and it looked quite clearly it had bounced before Inzy,’ Strauss said. ‘But sometimes at slip you’re not sure.’
   Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said all replays should be shown to the crowd on the big screen rather than just the one suggesting Strauss was not out which led some spectators to boo Inzamam.
   ‘When they showed the replays, there were two views of it. One looked not out, the other looked out.
   ‘If they are going to show one view they should show the other on the screen or not show anything at all,’ former England batsman Woolmer told reporters after Friday’s match.
   ‘I think it was one of those catches where you think you’ve caught it. Because it’s so close to the ground, you can’t make a rational judgment.’
   However, he said he’d no problems with Strauss’s decision to stay put.
   ‘I think Strauss, if he thought it hit the ground, had every right to stay there quite frankly.
   ‘One-day cricket can be a lottery but England were better than us.’

Simon Katich is the leading contender to open Australia’s innings with Adam Gilchrist in next month’s ICC Champions Trophy one-day cricket series, captain Ricky Ponting said Saturday.
   The Australian team left here Saturday to play India and the West Indies in a one-day Malaysian warm-up tournament, starting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
   Gilchrist is being rested from the Kuala Lumpur tri-series ahead of the mini-World Cup in India, but Katich is in the driving seat to partner the Australian vice-captain at the top of the innings, Ponting told reporters.
   Katich opened the batting in all eight one-day internationals on the tours of South Africa and Bangladesh earlier this year, averaging 38.40 and 43.00.
   ‘(Last year) Simon probably put a bit more pressure on himself and went into his shell a little bit,’ Ponting said.
   ‘(But) the way he played in the VB (Australian tri) series, and a couple of times in South Africa as well, and then again in Bangladesh, I think we started to see the real Simon Katich come out.
   ‘With him being a bit more confident with his position in the side now, I think we’re going to see a better player going forward.’
   Contenders for an opening berth, Phil Jaques, Mark Cosgrove and the recalled Matthew Hayden, have all been named in the 18-man party although they missed the cut for the reduced-size 14-man Champions Trophy squad.
   Ponting said he has the highest expectations of pace spearhead Glenn McGrath despite his lack of international cricket since dropping out last January to support his wife’s battle against breast cancer.
   ‘He feels 25 again,’ Ponting said. ‘I think we’ll try and give Glenn as much bowling as we can (in Malaysia). Glenn’s one who’s thrived with lots of bowling over the years.
   ‘We need to make sure we’re really monitoring his progress and try to get a fair bit of bowling into him.
   ‘I’m sure he’ll play the first couple of games and we’ll just see how he pulls up after those.’
   Australia open the tri-series against the West Indies on Tuesday and Ponting’s squad could play five games in 13 days should they reach the September 24 final.
   ‘These opportunities are the ones we have to make the most of,’ Ponting said.
   ‘The whole idea of this series is to try and give everyone a couple of games at least.
   ‘(Chairman of selectors) Andrew Hilditch has already got mapped out possible teams for the upcoming games and when we get there we’ll let the guys know who’s playing when.’

Mido has returned to Tottenham with a sharp new haircut, a slimline figure and a burning desire to reignite his love affair with the White Hart Lane faithful.
   The Egyptian striker, whose flowing locks have been replaced with a severe crew cut, revealed on Thursday that he had shed ten kilos (22 pounds) over the summer with the help of a Brazilian personal trainer he is planning to retain throughout the season.
   Mido spent 18 months on loan at Spurs before returning to Roma in May after the two clubs were unable to agree a permanent deal.
   Terms were finally thrashed out last week and, despite interest from Blackburn, Mido insisted he always had his heart set on a return to north London.
   He explained: ‘I’ve had an agreement to come back to Spurs for more than six weeks now so I knew I would be back.
   ‘I really appreciate what Spurs did because it was difficult to get me away from Roma. They need money and they can’t afford to buy a striker like me, so they had to ask for a lot of money.
   ‘But Spurs wanted me and I wanted to come to Spurs, and even though I had offers from other English clubs, I never changed my mind. I gave my word to the chairman.
   ‘The board said they needed time to negotiate with Roma to get the best deal and they asked me not to sign for another club. Daniel (Levy) had a lot of meetings with Roma to get me here.
   ‘I was close to joining Blackburn. I spoke to the manager and the chairman and I have a lot of respect for them, but I always wanted to join Spurs.’
   Mido scored 11 goals last season as Spurs booked their place in the UEFA Cup and he is hoping his Brazilian trainer will help him find the net at least as often in this campaign.
   ‘I’ve worked hard because it was important for me to lose weight and now it’s my job to keep fit because I got injured at the end of last season and gained weight.
   ‘Nothing has changed in my training regime but I’m talking to a Brazilian man who is one of the best physical trainers and I hope I can get an agreement for him to work with me for the next year.
   ‘His job will be to work with the medical staff at the club to keep me fit and to work with my body closely.
   ‘He was working with my friend Maxwell who is now at Inter. He had a big injury and he helped him to get fit again.
   ‘This man has the experience and I asked Spurs if I could have him and I will pay for him, but I’m still working on an agreement.’
   When fit, Mido was an automatic choice for Spurs manager Martin Jol last season, with the big Egyptian paired with either Jermain Defoe or Robbie Keane.
   Despite his weight loss, Mido insists he will be just as good at muscling past defenders. ‘I didnt want to lose muscles, just the things my body doesn’t need,’ he said.

Australian Tom Moody says it is firmly his intention to honour his contract as Sri Lanka’s cricket coach despite warnings about the safety of foreign nationals on the strife-torn island.
   Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website has issued warnings of the kidnapping of foreign nationals for ransom in Sri Lanka following an upsurge in violence.
   Moody, who is considered a leading candidate to succeed John Buchanan as Australia’s head coach after next year’s World Cup, is preparing Sri Lanka for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in India.
   Sri Lanka has suffered an upsurge in bloodshed since December that has left more than 1,500 people dead by official count.
   The island’s three-decade-old separatist ethnic conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
   ‘It has not got to the point where it has stopped me from thinking about doing my job,’ Moody told The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday.
   ‘When you’re out of the country it probably appears a bigger deal and more of an issue than it is to the people who are here.
   ‘The Sri Lankan people have grown relatively immune to these kinds of things.
   ‘It’s not as though the people are daring not to venture outside. There has been a significant increase in the military and police presence, which is comforting. In a way, I’m becoming immune, too.’
   Last month South Africa pulled out of the limited-over tri-series against India and hosts Sri Lanka citing security concerns after a deadly bombing in Colombo’s popular Pettah markets.
   ‘I think there has to be a realisation that in this day and age, no matter whether you’re in London, Sydney or Colombo, you have to be mindful of the unpleasant possibility of terrorist action,’ Moody said.
   Last July Sri Lanka, under Moody, fought back after going 1-0 down in the Test series against England to level at 1-1 and then reeled off six straight wins against England in 20-20 and one-day cricket to finish off their tour.
   ‘Things had been very good. We took a lot of confidence out of the England series. From a team and an individual point of view, the build-up over the last six months has been really pleasing,’ Moody said.
   ‘This is something we have worked hard at. It’s certainly not something that happened overnight. This has been 14 months in the making,’ he said.
   ‘(South Africa’s withdrawal) was frustrating from the viewpoint of momentum.
   ‘The more wins we could have got under the belt, the better.
   ‘But with the bad comes the good. It has given us the opportunity to rest our guys, and gives those with a few niggles time to recover.’

Muttiah Muralitharan has said one of the reasons for his recent fine form has been the way he coped with the abuse he received from crowds during Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia earlier this year.
   The off-spinner, whose controversial action twice saw him no-balled for throwing in Australia during in the 1990s, has taken 46 wickets in his last five Test matches, against England and South Africa.
   ‘I am in some good form but I wouldn’t say it is necessarily the best form of my career,’ Murali told the Bigstarcricket.com website.
   ‘I am just bowling well and have found some good rhythm. For the last year I have bowled well and I haven’t done anything different in these series than at other times.
   ‘Cricket is like this, wickets can come all at once and at other times you can bowl well and maybe not receive your rewards,’ added the 34-year-old, whose haul of 657 wickets leaves him second only to Australia leg-spin ace Shane Warne in the all-time list of leading Test wicket-takers.
   ‘If there is one thing that maybe has helped me this year it was the experience I had in Australia.
   ‘It may sound a strange thing to say as it was a very tough tour for me on and off the field, especially with the abuse we received.
   ‘But if you go through difficult times and come out the other side, you become a stronger character for it.
   ‘That’s what happened to me. I like to think that I am quite strong mentally anyway. But these sort of experiences only make me more determined.’
   In January, Muralitharan was greeted by chants of ‘no ball’ from large sections of the crowd at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium when he bowled during Sri Lanka’s opening tri-series one-day match against Australia.

South Africa will welcome back senior players Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis in the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy in India next month.
   Captain and top order batsman Smith and all rounder Kallis, who have been out of action following surgery, were named in South Africa’s squad for the tournament on Friday.
   All rounder Justin Kemp
   and fast bowler Charl Lang-eveldt will also return from injury.
   The casualties from the one-day squad selected for South Africa’s truncated tour to Sri Lanka last month were batsman Ashwell Prince, fast bowlers Johan van der Wath and Roger Telemachus, and uncapped off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala.
   South Africa returned home without playing in a one-day tournament against Sri Lanka and India after a fatal bomb blast near their Colombo hotel.
   Van der Wath, Telemachus, and batsmen JP Duminy and Alviro Petersen, who is uncapped, were added to the squad selected for the Champions Trophy for South Africa’s three-match home one-day series against Zimbabwe that starts a week today.
   A Cricket South Africa (CSA) release said Kemp, Kallis and Langeveldt would undergo fitness tests on Tuesday.
   Kallis, who is recovering from elbow surgery, will captain South Africa against Zimbabwe in the continued absence of Smith, who is on the mend from an ankle operation.
   Smith ‘should be fit’, the release said, to lead South Africa in India.
   Squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock.

When the first round of Serie A matches kick off today, the fans will cheer, wave banners and throw firecrackers. Everything will look just as it did four months ago at the end of last season.
   But if you listen carefully you might hear, under the roar of the crowds, an unfamiliar sound – a collective sigh of relief that finally the new season is underway.
   Italy’s fans had barely 24 hours to enjoy their side’s victory over France in the World Cup final in Berlin on July 9 before they began the anxious wait for the first set of judgments in the Serie A match-fixing scandal.
   The ensuing legal battles pushed the start of the championship back two weeks to September 9 and it could have been worse.
   With just over a week to go, Juventus were threatening to take their case to the civil courts, raising the prospect of yet more delays.
   Serie A’s summer of woe began in early May with the publication of intercepted phone calls between the general manager of Juventus, Luciano Moggi, and senior officials at the Italian Football Federation, discussing refereeing appointments during the 2004-05 season.
   Within days, FIGC president Franco Carraro and the entire Juventus board had resigned.
   Officials at AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were also dragged in, but the gravity of the situation only became clear with the arrival on the scene of figures from outside the closed world of football.
   The former head of Italy’s stock market regulator, Guido Rossi, was appointed emergency administrator of the FIGC. Francesco Borrelli – the magistrate who conducted Italy’s ‘Clean Hands’ probe into political corruption in the early Nineties – was named its chief investigator.
   But Serie A’s desire to ‘fare piazza pulita’ – to rid itself of corruption – was tempered when the sports courts delivered their sentences: Juventus in the second-division Serie B on minus 17 points. Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina stayed in Serie A, but with point-penalties and, in the case of the latter two, exclusion from this season’s European competitions.
   Juventus fans complained bitterly that their team had been made a scapegoat.
   The club’s aggressive legal bid to be reinstated in Serie A was in stark contrast to its contrite hearing during the first trial, when its lawyer said an acceptable punishment would be relegation to Serie B with penalty points.
   The brave new world envisaged by many Italian fans in the early days of the scandal has not arrived.
   The landscape that has risen from the rubble, however, is almost unrecognisable.
   Inter are champions for the first time since 1989, though their crown sits rather uneasily; Fiorentina and Lazio are out of Europe; Roma are back in the Champions League; and for the first time in their history, Juventus are out of Serie A – a huge blow to the prestige and public image of the league as well as a financial disaster for the club.
   On the wall of the Italian national team’s training base outside Florence, someone has scrawled – ‘Mercenaries or champions?’
   The graffiti dates back to late May, a period in which the Azzurri trained in an atmosphere of suspicion, half of them perceived as unwitting accomplices in one of the greatest frauds in Italian sports history.
   Other messages attack the ‘donkey’ Guido Rossi, ‘enemy of Florence’.
   It should have been a summer in which Italy basked in the glory of their World Cup triumph. Instead it was one they would rather forget.

Carlos Tevez is convinced he has what it takes to be a Premiership sensation. The Argentinian, 22, is itching to be handed his West Ham debut against Aston Villa today.
   And once he gets his chance, Tevez will be aiming to justify Hammers boss Alan Pardew’s claim that the ex-Boca Juniors and Corinthians star can be the Londoners’ Wayne Rooney.
   He said, ‘People think I’m similar to Rooney and that might be true. I try to watch him when I can, as I think he is fantastic.
   ‘I’ve seen some of his goals and a few of them are similar to mine. He has a way of dragging defenders with him and then scoring.
   ‘He’s a great finisher and my Argentina team-mate Gabriel Heinze speaks highly of him.’
   Comparisons are being made because Tevez is a similar build to Rooney – and the pair also share a fiery temper.
   Tevez, who has 25 caps, declared, ‘Yes, Rooney is very strong and confrontational. He doesn’t like to lose a ball, even in a friendly. We’re the same in that respect.’
   West Ham’s new boy, who arrived with fellow Argentina ace Javier Mascherano, is used to comparisons with big-name footballers.
   He has long been touted as a worthy successor to Diego Maradona in his homeland and takes such compliments in his stride.
   He declared, ‘I never say it annoys me that people compare me to Maradona. It’s an honour. But I have a long way to go before I can reach the same level as him. Diego was one of the best players of all time.’
   Tevez revealed his immediate objective is to inspire the Hammers to produce their most successful campaign ever.
   He insisted, ‘I don’t want to promise a certain amount of goals. What I want is to create lots of them and shine at West Ham, so they have the best season in their history. The coach will decide whether or not I play against Aston Villa. Though I’m not in top condition physically, I’m dying to make my debut. I would do it right away if it was up to me.
   ‘English football is difficult for all newcomers. But I’m confident I can stand out.’
   Pardew has already cautioned Hammers fans not to expect his Argentina internationals to produce miracles the moment they appear.
   The new arrivals can expect a rapturous welcome from the Upton Park crowd. But while Pardew has huge expectations for the pair, he wants them to be given time to adapt to the unique demands of Premiership football.
   Pardew said, ‘A point that has been missed is that this isn’t Ruud van Nistelrooy and Claude Makelele who have come over. These are two 22-year-olds. They’ve had success at international level but limited success, I would say.
   ‘One of the reasons perhaps why Carlos and Javier have selected us is for our record with young players and, in particular, my own record. But don’t think they will be the finished article and change this team around completely. We won’t know until they enter the Premiership hurly-burly how they will adapt.’
   Villa’s Juan Pablo Angel took time to adapt after moving here from Argentina’s River Plate.
   He urged Tevez and Mascherano to master the language as soon as possible or they will struggle to settle.
   He said, ‘I have seen them play and they are clearly two quality players. But it’s important to learn the language, at least enough of it to be able to communicate with your team-mates. You need to understand what is going on around you.’
   Pardew is expecting Aston Villa to give his side a tough test.
   He said, ‘Martin O’Neill has revitalised them.’

Ashley Cole has accused Arsenal of ‘disrespecting’ him in the wake of his controversial transfer to Chelsea.
   The England international completed his switch to Stamford Bridge last week after the Premiership champions agreed to give Arsenal five million pounds (7.5m euros) and their French defender William Gallas in exchange.
   Cole’s departure had been anticipated ever since he was fined 75,000 pounds for illegally meeting Chelsea officials in a London restaurant in January 2005.
   He duly accused Arsenal of making him a scapegoat and his antipathy for his boyhood club deepened when they refused to grant him the 90,000-pound-a-week pay deal he felt he deserved.
   Cole eventually signed a new four-year contract but he told the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger before the World Cup that he wanted to leave. Now, despite securing his dream move to Stamford Bridge, his fury with his former employers has still not dissipated.
   ‘I thought I would be at Arsenal for the whole of my career so of course it hurt when I felt I wasn’t wanted,’ Cole said.
   ‘But it made me stronger and although Arsenal will always have a place in my heart, hopefully I can enjoy the same relationship with Chelsea.
   ‘I think people probably view me as a greedy pig but I am genuinely not like that. It’s never been about money: it’s about respect and I feel that was owed to me by Arsenal. I gave everything for that club and I don’t feel Arsenal held me in as high regard as they should have done.
   ‘But I’ll forgive them for that. What happened between me and them is in the past now. I meant what I said at the time but I don’t want to keep going back on old ground.’
   Cole might not find that easy given his explosive autobiography is due to be published next week, together with its fierce criticisms of Arsenal and their vice-chairman David Dein, but in the meantime he insists he is excited by the prospect of linking up with his new Chelsea team-mates in Saturday’s meeting with Charlton.
   ‘It will be odd going into the home changing room at Stamford Bridge but it’s something I am looking forward to,’ he added.
   ‘Hopefully if I get to play, I can prove to the Chelsea fans that I am not here for the wrong reasons and that I want to do my best for the club.
   ‘I’m going to get stick and it will be hard for me but I dealt with it last season and hopefully the whole experience will just make me stronger as a person. I have no other option but to deal with it.
   ‘It has been hard, as an Arsenal player, to watch Chelsea come up and start winning everything. We had a taste of what it’s like to be a dominant side at Arsenal but Chelsea have been the top team for a couple of years now and I want to be part of their success.’

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger attempted Friday to draw a line under the acrimonious row that has erupted in the wake of William Gallas’s move from Chelsea to Arsenal.
   French defender Gallas, 28, joined Arsenal last week in part exchange for England full-back Ashley Cole but his arrival at the Emirates stadium was greeted by stinging criticism from his former employers. Chelsea claimed that Gallas threatened to deliberately get himself sent off or score own goals if he was picked by Mourinho in retribution for allegedly being denied a move away from Stamford Bridge.
   Gallas responded with a fierce attack of his own, accusing the Premiership champions of ‘lacking class’, and although Mourinho was reluctant to escalate the slanging match on Friday, he could not resist a jibe at his former player.
   ‘I don’t want to speak about William Gallas,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to speak about former players and William Gallas is now a former Chelsea player. For me, this deal was always about bringing Ashley to the club. Since the season started I never had William Gallas so I cannot even say that this deal lost Chelsea a player. I never had him - he was never a player for us this year.’
   Wenger declined to get embroiled in the row, although he admitted he had been surprised by Chelsea’s statement on the subject.
   ‘Why did they do that? I don’t know. Chelsea can answer that much better than I can,’ the Frenchman said, before underlining that he believed his compatriot’s version of events.
   ‘He came out with a statement where he was absolutely clear, he denied it. So you will not be surprised to hear that I believe my player.’
   Relations between Wenger and Mourinho have always been fraught and they plumbed new depths last summer when Chelsea were found guilty of ‘tapping-up’ Cole by meeting him in a London restaurant to discuss a transfer, with hefty Football Association fines subsequently being meted out to Mourinho, Cole and the club.
   But Mourinho believes that the clubs have finally settled their differences after successfully negotiating deals for Gallas and Cole, even if the Blues manager stopped short of wishing Wenger luck for the rest of the season.
   ‘The good thing was how Chelsea and Arsenal behaved in negotiating the deal in the last two months,’ he added. ‘Everything was very correct: Chelsea fought for the player and Arsenal fought for the best deal for a very important player. I am very happy with that.
   ‘I have no problem with Arsenal. I cannot wish them good luck because we have the same objective as them, which is to win the Premiership. I want us to have all the luck so for that reason I cannot wish any for them. But as far as I am concerned the relationship is positive now.’

Manchester United will stop off in Kuala Lumpur next summer as part of a planned Asian tour after signing a new sponsorship deal with Tourism Malaysia.
   The contract, an extension of an existing accord with Air Asia, sees Malaysia’s tourist office sever its relationship with Chelsea in favour of a link-up with the world’s best-supported club.
   ‘Manchester United have more fans in our part of the world than Chelsea and we feel this sponsorship deal offers us the best chance to
   promote Malaysia worldwide,’ Malaysian tourism minister YB Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said on Friday.
   ‘There are Manchester United fan clubs in Malaysia and so many people who like to watch their games.
   ‘This package is better for us in a commercial sense and we will strive with United to make it work for the benefit of all parties.’
   The visit to Kuala Lumpur is designed to help mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence and United chief executive David Gill said he expected to solidify the club’s huge fan base in southeast Asia.
   ‘We have always had a huge following in that region for three main reasons; history, heritage and achievement,’ he said.
   ‘The success of the Premiership has also been an important factor and it will be good to have the chance to visit the region again.
   ‘As with all our tours, we will not just turn up, play a game and leave again. It will be a genuine attempt to project ourselves to supporters who very rarely have the opportunity to see us live.’
   United’s full tour schedule is yet to be finalised but it is expected to include visits to Shanghai and South Korea.
   United already have Park Ji-sung on their books and manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed on Friday that he could soon be joined at Old Trafford by another Korean player.
   ‘The world has changed in terms of where you get players from now and we are currently looking at another young Korean boy we are hoping to bring over quite soon,’ Ferguson said.

Spain winger Jose Antonio Reyes has said he is determined to convince Real Madrid to sign him on a permanent basis after joining the club on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal.
   ‘I’ve got a year to prove to the club, the president and the boss that I’m worth a place here,’ the 23-year-old told a news conference after his official presentation to the media at the Bernabeu on Friday.
   ‘Maybe it will depend on how the club does this season, but I’ll be doing my best. Obviously I don’t know if I’ll have return (to Arsenal) next year, but if I think about that I’ll be starting off on the wrong foot.’
   Reyes, who joined Arsenal for a then club-record fee of around 17 million pounds in January 2004, said he was not intimidated by having to compete with established players like Raul and Robinho for a place on the left side of the Real midfield.
   ‘If I have to compete for a place with Raul I will,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind where I play. I’ve also played on the right side at Arsenal too. All I want to do is to convince the coach that I’m worth a place in the side.
   The talented winger admitted that one of the main factors that had persuaded him to push for a move away from Arsenal had been his and his family’s failure to adapt to England.
   ‘The climate and the language were very difficult for me, and my family wasn’t happy there either and they are the most important thing for me.’
   He also said that Arsene Wenger’s decision to leave him on the bench for most of last season’s Champions League final against Barcelona had helped convince him to move from London.
   ‘Not starting the Champions League final was a major blow to me especially as I had played in all the games along the way. I don’t know if it was the final straw, but it was important.’
   Reyes was so keen to return to Spain that his agent negotiated a possible move to Real’s city rivals Atletico when the nine-times European champions appeared to go cool on the deal.
   Atletico have since said that the player has to pay them two million euros for failing to complete the move and Reyes admitted his agent had agreed to pay compensation to the club.
   ‘My agent has reached an agreement with Atletico over the matter and it is now sorted,’ he said.
   Real president Ramon Calderon said he was convinced Reyes, the club’s fifth close-season signing, would help the team get back to winning ways after their worst run of form in over 50 years.
   ‘He wanted to play for Real Madrid and we wanted him here,’ he said. ‘He’s one of the best players in the world and I’m sure that with him we will be celebrating the trophies that have eluded us in the last three years.’

Ronaldinho has fanned the flames ahead of Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League date with Chelsea next month, by suggesting the Premiership champions will be ‘easy to beat’.
   The two sides are no stranger to one another having met in the tournament’s knockout stage stage in each of the last two seasons, with controversy dogging the sides’ recent clashes.
   Group A sees the occasionally feuding pair drawn alongside Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia, with Ronaldinho more wary of the German opposition than he is of Jose Mourinho’s star-studded team.
   ‘They will be easy to beat because their new signings Andrei Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole won’t have settled in,’ Ronaldinho told the Daily Express.
   ‘Anybody would think Chelsea are our main rivals, but I hold Werder Bremen in high regard. They will be very strong opposition.’
   The Brazilian admits he is surprised by the hype surrounding his team’s clash with Chelsea, although the flamboyant star believes it will be to his side’s advantage to play The Blues sooner rather than later.
   ‘People call our group the group of death, but this is football, not war,’ added Ronaldinho.
   ‘However, the amount of hype surrounding Chelsea takes my breath away. It is better for us to play them now rather than later. Ballack, Shevchenko and Cole may well make them stronger. But they will need time to settle and this will be to Chelsea’s disadvantage.’

Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney floored Blackburn star Michael Gray with a single punch in an altercation at a restaurant here on the weekend.
   Rooney, 20, was with fiancee Coleen McLoughlin and three other couples, all long-standing close friends of the pair, at a plush restaurant on Saturday night, when Gray, himself capped three times by England in 1999, wandered over, apparently under the influence of alcohol.
   The footballers exchanged words before it is alleged Rooney, while still seated, punched Gray, giving the player a black eye.
   ‘Wayne and Coleen were enjoying a night out with three other couples and were having a quiet dinner when Michael came up to their table uninvited,’ said a spokesman for the striker.
   ‘Michael then began making a number of remarks which were offensive to Coleen and Wayne’s other female guests.
   ‘Several times, Wayne asked Michael to leave. It was a brief incident and as far as Wayne is concerned, he bears no ill-feeling towards Michael.’
   The incident comes at a time when Rooney is currently suspended from club duty and has only just completed an international ban for his dismissal during England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal.
   The negative headlines are the last thing Rooney needed, given he has worked hard to try to curb the excesses of temper he has admitted in the past have caused him problems.
   Yet given the provocation involved Saturday’s incident, Rooney is unlikely to face any internal action from his club, while it is understood Gray has offered a full version of events to Blackburn boss Mark Hughes.

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United could renew their advances for England midfielder Owen Hargreaves.
   The Red Devils were left frustrated in the summer transfer market, after looking certain to sign Spanish international Marcos Senna from Villarreal at first.
   They then turned their attentions to the Bayern Munich combatant, who made clear his desire to play at Old Trafford.
   While the Bundesliga champions refused to deal with United before the transfer deadline of August 31, Ferguson has refused to rule out a return for the 25-year-old in the future.
   ‘We tried to get Own Hargreaves, we did our best and because we laid the boat out to get him we missed out on Senna which was our alternative,’ Ferguson admitted.
   ‘We could not keep the boy Senna waiting and his club, so we had to pull out gracefully from it because we felt pursuing Hargreaves was an important one.
   ‘Unfortunately we didn’t get him but perhaps another time - possibly.’

Michael Carrick will make his Old Trafford debut against old club Tottenham on Saturday, with thoughts of winning the title at Manchester United in the forefront of his mind. Carrick made the move to the North West after United tabled a mega offer of £18.6 million this summer.
   Spurs chief Martin Jol is still smarting at losing Carrick, admitting recently he would rather have the player than money burning a hole in his pocket.
   Carrick has had to wait to make his home bow, having picked up an injury in pre-season, but he is determined to ensure his old club do not knock him off course.
   ‘I’ve got a burning desire to win the league,’ Carrick told The Sun. ‘It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. Winning cups is great but to win the league is a special thing.
   ‘Manchester United is a huge club with a tradition of being successful. The expectation and belief within the squad is so high.’
   The midfielder is seen as the man to fill Roy Keane’s boots and he will not be overawed by the big stage.
   ‘This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and to play in the stadium is going to be a great experience. I’m just looking forward to being part of it,’ he added.

It’s taken 14 years and 676 games, but Ryan Giggs has finally won the Barclays Premiership Player of the Month award.
   Amazingly, the Manchester United winger has never been recognised before, even though he is one of the Premiership’s longest-serving players.
   Giggs finally got his reward for his starring role in United’s 100 per cent start to the season.
   And in a double for the Reds, Sir Alex Ferguson has won the manager of the month prize for a 17th time.
   Giggs, 32, who made his United debut in 1990, has been in inspiring form, creating and scoring goals, and Ferguson claims the award is a tribute to his staying power.
   ‘Ryan’s got that maturity about him which is amazing,’ he said.
   ‘He’s never had a weight problem and that helps. He’s always had great balance and he’s never lost his appetite for the game. We are benefiting from one important factor - his experience.’
   Giggs can act as a role model for Michael Carrick and Ferguson has backed him to succeed where several others have failed and star on the Old Trafford stage.